How Does Mary Shelley Use Allusions In Frankenstein

From the point of birth, Man always pursues knowledge, this pursuit is always kept within certain boundaries. In her novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explains how the pursuit of forbidden knowledge can become dangerous through symbolism, allusion, and foreshadowing proving each effectively to the reader. Employing symbolism as her first technique, Shelley uses this in the way many other enlightenment authors do. The strongest use of symbolism is prevalent while Victor is contemplating suicide on the lake near Geneva. Feeling “tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities forever” (63) Victor believes that his only option to restore his sanity is suicide. The water symbolizes that the stresses of the unforbidden knowledge of creating life that Victor has acquired are unrelenting. Victor literally wants to kill himself because the knowledge is consuming all aspects

Many authors allude to Biblical stories in their works, Shelley included. Her reference to the creation of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden is most prominent. The monster finds himself searching for someone to console him, but “no Eve soothed my sorrows, nor shared my thoughts; I was alone” (95). He is despaired in his pursuit of knowledge of finding a mate because there is no creature such as him capable of loving and caring for him. Shelley also alludes to another book, Sorrows of Werter, depicting how the “never-ending source of speculation and astonishment” (92) creates a gloomy haze over the monster’s life. In his readings, the monster finds astonishing informing regarding the suicidal thoughts it is experiencing. This knowledge eats away at the creature, but is never acted upon. Knowledge attained by the monster throughout the novel devastates and over time crushes the inner spirit, leading to the destruction of its will to